Betty Sue Smith

Betty Sue Evans Smith, 73, of Knoxville, Tennessee, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, August 9, 2026 and somehow, Sunday seems like exactly the right day for Betty to go Home.

Sunday was her favorite day of the week. It meant church, family, food, fellowship, and Jesus—all of the things she loved most. On Sunday, August 9, on her favorite day of the week, Betty attended church in a way she never had before.

In years past, Sundays meant gathering her family around the same table for a massive meal. Everyone helped cook, and then they sat together talking about the church service, the day, the week, and whatever else came up. Her table was never lacking. There had to be plenty of choices and there had to be more than enough for everyone. She was an amazing cook, and everybody knew it. No one was going hungry if Betty had anything to say about it. Feeding people was one of the ways she loved them. She cared for others almost to a fault, many times at the expense of her own personal good.

Betty loved Jesus with her whole heart. She introduced her children, her grandchildren, and anyone else who would listen to the Lord she loved so much. She came to know Jesus through South Knoxville Church of God and credited her grandmother, Lela Gann, and her aunt, Jean Pruitt, with drawing her to Christ. If the church doors were open, chances were Betty and her children were there. She didn't simply tell her children about Jesus; she raised them in the church and made faith a part of the rhythm of their lives. Even when she had to be wheeled inside, and even when she could barely pick up her legs to make it back through the doors, she wanted to be at church.

Betty didn't keep her faith or her music inside the four walls of a church building. She was part of a prison ministry team, carrying the Gospel behind prison walls through song. She would go wherever she was invited to sing and minister. If someone wanted to hear about Jesus and there was a place for Betty to sing, she was ready to go.

For the past 17 years, Dante Church of God was her church home, and its people were her church family. Betty was adamant about being in the house of God and when she was in church, you knew it. Her voice could be heard throughout the church house from her front-row pew. One song in particular could shake the doors when Betty sang it: Ain’t No Grave. How fitting those words seem now.

On Sunday, August 9, Betty joined the heavenly choir. There truly is no grave that can hold her. She entered Heaven on her favorite day of the week and joined church at the Master’s feet—with a whole new body, dancing, singing, worshiping, and, for the first time since she was a child, completely healthy and 100 percent whole.

Betty shared 24 years of marriage with her husband, Jim Smith. Their faith was an important part of their life together. Week after week, they attended church side by side, and they especially enjoyed their monthly seniors’ dinners at church.

Betty’s definition of family was much bigger than the names on a family tree. Every friend she ever made seemed to become family. Their stories became her stories—and then, in true Betty fashion, she shared those stories with everybody who would listen. She made friends everywhere she went. She loved storytelling, and she had a stubborn streak that anyone who knew and loved her will recognize with a smile.

That was Betty.

She gathered people. She fed them. She hugged them. She prayed for them. She sang to them. She told their stories. She bragged about them. She introduced them to Jesus, and she made them family.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Helen Evans; her father, Hollis Evans; and her brother, David Evans.

Betty is survived by her husband of 24 years, Jim Smith; her siblings, Sarah Robinson (Larry); Donnie Evans (Sue); and Virginia Evans; her children, Angie Karrick; Tomica Bellamy (Eric); and Rick Lowe (Nikki); and many other beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

There will be no formal funeral arrangements. We ask that you respect the family’s wishes to grieve privately during this difficult time.

Anyone wishing to honor Betty’s memory is asked to do something that reflects the way she lived: take some food to a local Blessing Box and make sure someone else has something to eat. Then go home and hug your family a little tighter. Gather around the table. Make too much food. Tell some stories. Laugh loudly. Sing loudly. Love people generously. Make room for one more. And remember a woman who spent her life doing exactly that.

Condolences can be left for the family at www.mynattfh.com

Mynatt Funeral Home, Powell Chapel is honored to be serving the family of Betty Sue Smith.

Mynatt Funeral Home Powell Chapel * 2000 Powell Drive * Powell, TN 37849 * (865) 362-5382 * www.mynattfh.com